Forbidden: Blackfire's Story
by robbiepoo2341
Summary: Blackfire, now the heir to the throne of Tamaran, sets her sister up to take her place in jail, little realizing how this will irrevocably tie her to the earthlings, the Titans.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Because of Falling Stars, I've decided I like Blackfire a little too much...

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing related to Teen Titans or the DC universe.

Chapter One

Most fun things in life are forbidden.

Take, for example, the moon diamond sitting just in front of her, protected only by a simple force field and alarm system. It glistened with the gentle tease of a flirtacious smile and yet without the showy flair of other precious gems. She could, if she wanted, simply _buy _the diamond - with the riches of royalty, she could buy anything. But what would happen if, say, she flicked a small starbolt at the alarm system and pulled the force field apart with her boundless confidence?

The moon diamond assumed its rightful place - around her neck - and showed off her perfect features. It glistened against her flawless skin, while the precise, square edges flirted with her defined jawline.

She quickly realized, however, the only downside to this beautiful accessory - it definitely stood out against the black cloth and silver metal of her armor. Anyone who looked at her was bound to notice it. So, she did the only logical thing: she flew confidently - but quickly - out of the building, winked flirtaciously at each of the guards in turn, and shouted over her shoulder, "Nice doing business with you!"

The guards gave no indication that they suspected anything - but then, it was relatively difficult to get a good reading on them emotionally underneath that helmet. It covered their entire faces! Of course, she knew it was essential to the Centari people; as obligate anaerobes, they could not survive in oxygen-rich environments. And, unfortunately for them, most of the people in this and the neighboring galaxy required osygen to survive. It was lucky for her that Tamaraneans had no such restriction but merely needed a source of light energy that they could harness in an almost photosynthetic manner. Oxygen was nice, of course, since energy transfers tended to leave her weakened, but it was helpful to have an easy escape into the black vacuum of space whenever she needed it.

And she just might need it now.

The blaring alarm drove daggers into her thoughts as the blinding red lights searched for her. Of course, it was a simple matter to access her boundless confidence - she never lost it, really; why should she ever _stop _feeling confident? - and propel herself into space. Unaided by her transport vessel - using it would only give the Centari something to track her with - she could not quite reach light speeds, but she was close. The simplest escape was the nearest moon, guarded by a mere minefield easily avoided with a simple twist of her slender body.

And what a perfect moon to find! Her thin lips curled into a sinister smile as she surveyed the gleaming city beneath her. The roads glittered with finely crushed gems, and the buildings sparkled in the sunlight. (Of course, this was only in the Cloud City. The face of the moon below was a diamond mine, but since when did she care for anything besides the splendor a princess so richly deserved? Let the masses toil, so long as she got her fill!

"Your Highness?"

The sudden noise startled her; thankfully, it was only her communication device. Had it been an actual person, she might have to kill him out of embarassment. Very few things could surprise her; she was meticulous, cunning, and - above all - royalty. With that in mind, she seized the circular device and watched as a holographic Captain of the Guard flickered into view. "What?" she demanded tersely.

"We lost your signal when you left the moon, Your Highness. Do you wish for us to retrieve you?"

She sighed. In only a month, she would turn eighteen and finally ascend to the throne. Until then, that idiot Galfore still called the shots, and he had some prehistoric notion that the princess must bring guards with her everywhere. She'd managed to give them the slip on the last moon she visited, but they'd apparently found her again. "I'm fine, Captain," she waved him off. "Return to Tamaran; I'll meet you there."

"But the High Regent -"

"I wonder what would happen if you annoyed me up through the day of my coronation?" she asked, striking a thoughtful pose. "I've been thinking about changing up the Royal Guard. Maybe some fresh talent, new leadership . . . ."

"We eagerly await your return to Tamaran, Princess."

She clapped the communication device shut and shoved it back into its pocket. The city below glistened invitingly, and she licked her lips. Without the Royal Guard breathing down her neck, she could easily get into all the trouble she wanted.

Her communication device chirped again, and she picked it up with a sigh. Her idiot little sister. Wonderful.

"Dearest sister, I hope that this transmission finds you in good health. Since I cannot return to Tamaran because of the terms of our surrender to the Gordanians, I eagerly await any transmissions I may receive from you describing our home. Galfore has found the time to explain to me that you are traversing the galaxy at the moment in your last month before your coronation; therefore, I will not press you for any further communication."

It was pitiful the way she sounded so sad, the way she was practically begging for any word of home. Blackfire _had _hoped the Gordanians would keep her locked up, but the homesick little sister trapped on Earth worked just as well; either way, she got the throne.

"The sights here on Earth never cease to amaze me. For example, there is an activity here called carnival. Robin has promised that I will enjoy it; since his promises have thus far been reliable, I can only assume it will be delightful. He rarely uses words like "enjoyable," as he is somewhat soft-spoken and reserves judgement."

Blackfire smiled wryly. If she remembered correctly, her sister's last transmission told of a Robin who yelled at his teammate and upset him into quitting the team. Her sister spoke of his rashness and his sincere remorse afterwards as if it was a good thing. In Blackfire's opinion, the only thing to be sorry for was . . . well, nevermind. There wasn't a good reason to feel guilty for anything.

And now this Robin character was sweet and kind? Blackfire grinned as she imagined her lovestruck sister. How long would this particular crush last? There was no telling. Blackfire could not attribute it to the damsel-in-distress syndrome; the warrior in her little sister - however small - did not appreciate being rescued. (Although, Blackfire noted with interest, the longer her little sister stayed with the Titans, the softer she became. She did not use fatal starbolt blasts, and she often gave up perfect opportunities to take out the bad guy in favor of allowing one of the other team members to shine. What gremplork.) It was something she supposed she would have to actually see to understand. And, since she had no intention of seeing her little sister ever again, that wasn't going to happen, was it?

"I also experienced my first rain shower here. The rain on Earth is not like on our beloved Tamaran. The deserts on our planet would not allow for so much rainfall! It is like standing in the middle of a fountain - but across the entire affected area! And there is a phenomenon here called lightning and thunder - a buildup of electrical energy in the clouds that discharges. The discharge is what is referred to as lightning, while thunder is the accompanying sound. It is at once a most terrifying and exciting thing."

She cut the transmission off; she would listen to the rest of it later so she could savor the homesick tone in her little sister's voice. Every time she mentioned Tamaran, Starfire's voice sang with bitterness and envy. Music to her ears. She could put up with the stories of the Titans, of Starfire's wonderful life on Earth - how it was _so _much better than remaining with the Gordanians - as long as she could still revel in that.

As she put away her communicator, she did not bother to watch where she flew - she never did that; people got out of her way of their own accord or suffered the consequences. Unfortunately, some of the people in the Cloud City were apparently unaware of this rule. An insectoid being crashed right into her, and they both stumbled back. She caught herself in the air, but he tumbled to the ground, clicking and spitting in annoyance.

"Watch where you're going, you stupid troq!"

She decked him.

It wasn't just a punch, either. It was a blow to the cut followed by a calm uppercut that ended with a snap as his left mandible ended up hanging awkwardly, barely attached.

It was only after she decked him that she saw the insignia on his chest and recognized him as the ambassador to Centari from the Elar system. Well, she'd wanted to get into trouble, but this wasn't exactly what she imagined.

But she was a _princess, _and he was only an ambassador. Therefore, there was no need to apologize. Instead, she simply sneered in his face, "Call me that again, and I'll take your exoskeleton off."

Of course, this meant relocating to another moon, since that ambassador would press embarassing charges, and she would rather not have that kind of publicity before her coronation. Her people would support her fully, of course. (In fact, some of the Royal Guard had been known to kill people on the spot for names like that, but she was feeling merciful - merciful in this case meaning less murderous than usual.) In fact, many Tamaraneans would be rather disappointed she didn't finish the ambassador off anyway. The problem was the legal system and the jails in the Centari system. Even if she got off, she'd still be arrested and have to spend a day in that horrid little cell. Those anaerobic creatures hadn't heard of comfort, apparently.

But what was the use of visiting the Cloud City without one last stop - the Red Street? The name was oxymoronic, since the Cyntaxi were colorblind and unable to decorate properly. In fact, most of the street was draped in green. But that wasn't the point. There was the reputation to uphold.

Red Street shimmered with rubies embedded in each building - which helped to further the illusion of "Red Street." The vendors merrily sold their goods outside the doors - but outside wasn't what interested her. It was the indoor happenings.

"Trust me on this one; you don't want that particular building."

The surprise wasn't so much the voice itself, but the fact that it surprised her at all. She fired up a starbolt and fired it without thinking, but he dived out of the way. He fired up his own, blue starbolts and stared at her with defiance in his eyes.

Wow. Hot.

Even as she glared at him suspiciously, she could not help admiring him. With that sculpted physique and the shoulder-length, black hair, she was surprised he did not wear a wedding band around his left arm. Instead, his right was banded, indicating his availability. She powered down her starbolts, toying with a particularly spicy idea involving this handsome Tamaranean, a room in Red Street, and no Royal Guard.

"I am Blackfire, heir to the throne of Tamaran. How dare you approach me?" she demanded. Secretly, of course, she was all for the idea of approaching . . . .

"Yeah, yeah. Your title doesn't impress me," the blue eyes sighed dismissively. "Just saw a fellow troq and figured you'd want to know about places we're not welcome."

Her eyes blazed bright purple at the word "troq," but she realized he meant it sarcastically. A handsome guy with a sense of humor to boot. She bit her lower lip thoughtfully. This could potentially be fun. "Well, I've never been very good at rules," she shrugged.

"Me neither," he grinned.

She wasn't quite sure whose idea it was to break down the door, or whose idea it was to hang everybody they could find by their toes - or corresponding body part, should toes not be present. It didn't actually matter. Either way, they had _way _too much fun doing it.

Outside of the building, they relaxed with their backs against the wall, enjoying the fruits of their spoils. He fingered the various currencies before stuffing them into his pocket, while she admired the freshley stolen moon diamond ring - the perfect accessory to her necklace. (She also had various currencies stuffed in her pockets, but she'd much rather admire something shiny and expensive than those crumpled things.)

"For a pampered palace brat, you're not half bad," he mused as he chewed thoughfully on one of the fresh traf fruits they stole.

"For a klorbag, you're not half bad, either," she grinned easily. It was the constant jabs that made him fun; he wasn't out to impress her. It was a welcome relief from the usual Royal Guard and their overbearing attention.

Not that she didn't absolutely love the attention, mind you. Her day was not complete without someone worshipping her on bended knee, yearning for her to order them to do something just so they could hear her voice. It was one of those familiarity breeds contempt things; she sometimes needed a break from being worshipped as a royal so she could be admired as a warrior.

"We'd better get out of here," he said, suddenly straightening up. She followed his gaze to see two Centari police standing in the streets holding an artist's sketch of her. For a brief moment, she was jealous of the sketch - it looked much better than she did - before she realized it meant even the police thought her beautiful. She was pretty pleased with herself until she looked over to see that the hot Tamaranean boy had left her with nothing but a scribbled frequency - an invitation to keep in touch with him. Well, okay then.

This was still a drawback; it meant the police knew what she looked like. It would only be a matter of time before they made the connection and came after her to Tamaran. That was the problem with the Centari; they loved their ridiculous justice to pieces, and they would go to any lengths to make sure even the smallest of crimes was punished. There could be no redirecting them now.

...Wait.

The Centari were colorblind; she could use this to her advantage. Yes, they knew what she looked like, but there just happened to be a girl who looked exactly like her to the colorblind eyes. This girl just happened to be in the quadrant, too . . . .


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Teen Titans or DC Universe, thank you very much.

Chapter 2

"Dearest sister, as I am unable to return to our beloved home planet, I can only transmit to you and hope that you will do the same. The distance between us is only physical, of course; you are always trulac'a - in my heart - and I know you feel the same."

At this, Blackfire had to stifle a snort. Right. She felt the same like a Gordanian slug worm feels clean. But if she wanted to pull this off, she had to play the kind older sister, the loving, adoring little protector who kept the beloved _heir _from harm. She gritted her teeth; this might be harder than she anticipated.

She returned her attention to the shimmering image of her baby sister as it wavered slightly and continued, "You will perhaps be wondering how I am even able to transmit to you. I was able to escape bondage long enough to be discovered by some wonderful people on a nearby planet. The word they used was "nice," I believe. It is not ruthasha, but that is the closest word. Think of it as a knorfka, but on a less affectionate basis. It is the relationship between friends. I cannot describe it accurately; it is a very interesting phenomenon.

"But I digress, sister. When I escaped the Gordanians, I came to a planet called, simply, Earth. The inhabitants of this planet are both simple and extraordinay. They do not have the military capabilities we do - they have not even fully mastered space travel! But there are so many smaller wonders on this planet that I cannot help being drawn to it.

"As for these 'friends' I mentioned earlier, we are still in contact. There is discussion now about joining together to form a group - the name is still in debate - to fight crime in the nearby City of Jumping. (I do not know why they would name a city after physical exertion, sister; this planet is still strange to me.)"

This was the part of the transmission Blackfire had been waiting for, and she turned up the volume on her communicator. As she did so, she turned over onto her back so that she was coasting, flying backwards towards Earth. She would arrive there within hours if she took the shortcut through the Draconis Nebula, so she ignored the warning signs on nearby asteroids and cut through, still listening to his sister's obnoxiously perky voice over the speakers.

"The youngest is a shape-shifter known as "Beast Boy." When I first met him, he wore a mask to conceal his identity, but a young woman called Raven informed him that his skin was green - this is considered abnormal on Earth - and it would therefore be impossible for him to conceal himself among normal humans anyway. His powers do not extend to taking on the form of other humans; he can only change into earthly animals. Although he enojys playing the pranks, he is most wise and has informed me of many things on Earth such as movies and recreational activities.

"He has also told me much about my rescuer - a human called Robin. I told you earlier that Beast Boy once wore a mask to conceal his identity. Robin does so as well. However, he has what I am informed is a normal skin color, so no one knows who he really is. According to Beast Boy's information, he was once a - what was the word? - sidekick to a batlike hero. Now, he is "going solo" to quote Beast Boy. He is the one who freed me from my bonds, and he is the one I chose to perform the lagte'e with."

Blackfire could feel something tugging against her - no doubt the force of one of the many black holes in the area. She narrowed her eyes in annoyance, but it was no matter. She simply pictured Starfire taking her place in prison, and the required boundless confidence flowed through her veins, feeding her strength. The black hole never had a chance.

"Here I must admit, sister, that I am most confused. I have not mastered the English language perfectly, and I require occasional assistance from others. This is not because Robin does not know the language - I believe it may be an incomplete lagte'e. And, as we know, the lagte'e can only be completed once with each language. I fear I will never understand the complexities of a language riddled with slang terms."

Blackfire smiled; she could see the hidden meaning in her sister's words. In the lagte'e, a Tamaranean's concentration must be entirely on the knowledge transfer - any other thoughts will break the information flow. The most common problem is attraction - a lagte'e partner who is handsome enough to draw attention from the transfer. In other words, her sister had a crush on this Robin person, and she did not absorb complete information in the lagte'e. Well, she already had a leg up on her sister; she'd never had that problem, even with hot lagte'e partners.

She felt another, more insistent pull and looked up to see a particularly problematic black hole. Sighing in frustration, she thought once more of her sister in prison and herself on the throne, which gave her enough confidence to pull free - theoretically.

"There is another male in the group. He is composed partially of metal and appears reluctant to show himself openly. Beast Boy has told me that most humans are not cyborgs. In fact, this male is called "Cyborg" because such a condition is rare. (As I told you, sister, these beings do not travel in space yet). He considers himself the "big brother" of the group, and he prides himself in his technological creations," came her sister's voice over the communicator as Blackfire's eyes widened in surprise - the black hole had not released her from its grip!

Grunting, Blackfire racked her brains for the solution while her boundless confidence kept her pulling against the black hole. She stood stationary for some time, with the force of her boundless confidence equally matched against the black hole. But, even Princess Blackfire knew she could not keep that up forever; even a perfect warrior such as herself had to succomb to exhaustion in the muscles with that kind of stress. She needed a Plan B.

The treacherous thought crossed her mind that now would be a good time for the Royal Guard to show up and save her, but she dismissed it just as quickly as it came.

"Finally, there is one other female in the group besides myself," her sister's voice rang out through the quiet of space. Blackfire gritted her teeth in annoyance; she would _not _die listening to that obnoxious commentary! "Her name is Raven, and her powers are most interesting. Cyborg's are the result of his being part robot, while Robin is simply a master of martial arts and own an interesting arsonal. Raven appears to be a sorceress of some kind, while her skin is not the "normal" tone of which Beast Boy spoke, but a light gray. I do not believe she is entirely human - though what else she could be, when the people of Earth have not traveled into space yet, is entirely a mystery to me. In fact, Raven is something of a mystery herself. She enjoys depressing poetry, meditation, and in all, behaves something like the monks of Benzo Prime."

"I am spending my time with these humans and have become aquainted with Earth customs through them. Their goals are admirable - they hope to use their unique skill sets to rid their city of crime. Since I cannot return home, I may join them. After all, it is the least I can do after the Gordanians nearly destroyed them for helping me."

Blackfire rolled her eyes; this was the first transmission Starfire sent from Earth, and already, she was changed. The Starfire she knew before betraying her to the Gordanians would shoot first, ask questions never, and show no remorse. The Starfire she knew did not care about collateral damage, nor did she care about who helped her - as long as they did not collect on their ulterior motives. It would be so much easier to take this weaker version of her once proud sister down.

She looked over her shoulder at the black hole threatening to suck her in, and a sudden thought struck her. She fired up a starbolt and let it go slowly, then immediately fired a second straight into the first. The starbolts collided, and the resulting explosion propelled her out of the way. Brilliant.

Suddenly, she noticed that her sister's voice no longer filled the void of space, and she looked down to see the communicator spitting sparks. She pretended to be upset about no longer receiving transmissions from Starfire. She already had the information she needed, anyway.

From this first transmission - which she listened to only to review what she already knew - she knew that Beast Boy would be the easiest to fool. Simply by laughing at his jokes and sidling up to him, stroking his ego, she could earn his trust. Cyborg was another easy matter. Play nice and he'd like her. This Raven girl ... well, it was lucky she'd gotten into meditation before - even if it was only as a way to clear her mind so she could better focus on her plans for dominating Tamaran. And she could swing poetry if she really wanted; she would have no problems with the lagte'e like her sister. That would already give her an edge.

It was this Robin character she worried about. Her sister was pretty - after all, they looked almost exactly alike, and Blackfire was _gorgeous_ - so this Earth boy could conceivably have a crush on Starfire. This was easily remedied, of course; Blackfire smiled as she remembered the endless suitors stolen from her sister just to do it. Blackfire could turn on the charm if she wanted, and she'd been on countless planets, flirted with all different species. What was a little human boy to her?

It helped that he was closer to her age than to Starfire's. Blackfire was nearly eighteen by Tamaranean standards, but Tamaranean years were equal to only .901 Earth years - a difference just slight enough to make her around sixteen Earth years old. According to Starfire's information, that was Robin's approximate age as well. It would have been harder to flirt with someone too many years younger than herself.

As she planned her introductory speech, she could see Earth. It looked green and inviting, and she was surprised by its strange beauty. It was a different kind of beauty than Tamaran's - as Starfire said. Tamaran was barren and rocky, but Earth was lush and covered in water. Its white, fluffy clouds gave the entire planet an air of sitting in the heavens.

Blackfire pushed such romantic thoughts out of her head before they got her in trouble, then pressed down through the atmosphere, looking for the telltale "T"-shaped Tower and an unsuspecting lagte'e partner.

She spotted the Tower and - beside it - a relatively well-built teenager with strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes who looked like he had time on his hands. He was cute enough to do the job - she didn't exactly enjoy the lagte'e with partners who were ugly. It wasn't that appearance had anything to do with the process; it was just the thought of being that close to someone for a long enough period of time to transfer an entire language...

She shook herself out of her thoughts and landed directly in front of the boy. Only then did she notice him pocketing the diamond necklace - no doubt a relic stolen from a nearby market. She smiled at his audacity, then frowned when he looked up in sudden fear. That wasn't the way to react to a princess!

He held up his hands in a gesture that could only mean surrender, then looked closer at her. He heaved an obvious sigh of relief - he had apparently realized that she was not her sister and had not come to arrest him for stealing. A new expression overcame his face as he asked her a question. She did not yet know the language, so she had no idea what he asked, but she guessed it was something along the lines of "Who are you?"

She rolled her eyes, then reached forward to grab him by the scruff of the neck and pressed her lips to his. He let out a little "mmph" of surprise, but he did not try to stop the process. (She remembered vaguely something her sister said about things called "kisses," but she could not be sure.) When she knew the information was complete, she pushed him aside.

"Whoa," the boy said, staring at her appreciatively. But, like the Tamaranean boy she encountered only hours earlier, he recovered quickly and struck a confident pose. "So, do I get a name or a number or anything?"

She just laughed, "What's the fun in that?" With that, she was off for the "T"-shaped tower. Time to pay her sister a visit. Earth's only sun was setting, and she wanted to get there before one of their "late night movies."

Starfire had described the layout of the Tower perfectly in her transmissions without realizing. Just from the little details gleamed from careful listening, Blackfire knew that her sister slept on the left side of the "T" when one was facing the Tower with their backs to the city. Directly above her sister's room was a corridor leading to the roof, which Robin frequented in the early mornings. The path should be simple.

Of course, nothing fun was ever simple.

The door to the roof was barred, and the window to her sister's room was closed. She tried various other bedrooms, but to no avail. She narrowed her eyes in annoyance; how was she supposed to get inside?

Blackfire always got what she wanted. Just as she was about to give up and simply knock on the front door in a less-glamorous surprise visit, the front door swung open of its own accord. She quickly ducked behind the nearest bush, watching as a large Cyborg led a little green human and a cloak-clad girl out of the Tower. The green human - obviously Beast Boy - was telling the girl - Raven - about the prizes they would win by the end of the day.

Moments later, the door opened again to reveal Starfire talking with what had to be Robin.

X'Hal.

Blackfire could immediately see why her sister was attracted to this Earthling. He had a strong-build without drawing too much attention to it. His hair was black as night, just like hers, and the mask. Well, the mask was something else entirely. It was a mystery, a challenge. Suddenly, she wanted to know more than anything else in the world what color his eyes were.

She was so distracted she almost forgot to fly in through the open door just before Robin could shut it behind him. He looked up in surprise for a moment, and - for a terrifying second - she wondered if he saw her. But Cyborg shouted, "Hurry up, slowpokes!" and the colorfully dressed human ducked out of the way.

And not a moment too soon, she reflected as she watched a familiar streak of light cross the sky - a probe had just entered the atmosphere.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Teen Titans or the DC Universe

Chapter 3

She sat with her feet up on the coffee table and her arms stretched out across the sofa. And, yes, she knew exactly what to call them. Unlike her sister, she had no problems with the English language, and she could correctly identify things like this rather than asking stupid questions like "Is it a table made of coffe?" or something like that.

She watched the streak of light pass over the night sky, hidden by the bright fireworks displays. (Briefly, she was reminded of the flares sent up by the guards warning of a Gordanian attack, and she smiled as a particular attack that resulted in the imprisonment of her darling little sister rose to mind.) It zeroed in on Starfire's presence, and - if all went well - she could abandon her plan entirely and simply leave the Tower while the Titans mourned the loss of their friend.

Of course, this sofa _was _very comfortable, and she'd gone to the trouble of learning all their names and personalities. It seemed like a shame to simply walk out on all that . . . .

And so, unbidden, the treacherous hope for Starfire's escape festered in her chest.

Naturally, she took that hope, beat it with a stick, subjected it to unspeakable tortures, and then exorcised the demon from within it. But it festered there anyway, still gasping and dying, but barely alive.

As she relaxed to watch the fireworks display from the _huge _window overlooking the bay area, a sudden buzzing alerted her to an incoming transmission. It couldn't have been one from her sister; it was probably that obnoxious captain wondering where she went. But as she glanced at her communicator, she did not recognize the number. One eyebrow shot up as she brought the communicator up to her cheek. "This is Blackfire," she said.

"I know it's Blackfire; that would be who I was trying to call in the first place."

Although both eyebrows shot up, she couldn't stop her heart from skipping a few beats as she leaned forward, "Where did you get this frequency?"

The image of the hot Tamaranean who helped her trash that shop on Red Street shimmered as he laughed, "Swiped it from you the first time we met."

"So giving me yours -"

"Was just a formality, yeah. Actually, I wasn't going to call for a few more days. It's tacky to call the same day, you know."

"I've heard that, yeah," she said, smiling despite her best attempts not to. There was something about this boy that made her drop her defenses - and it had been her experience that such things were not to be trifled with.

"But I figured I should give you a heads up. I just had a run-in with a Centari probe."

"You don't look any worse for the wear," she observed.

He drew himself up to his full height, eyes flashing, "They haven't invented a probe that could survive an encounter with me."

"Because that doesn't sound conceited at all," she rolled her eyes.

"Right, then I guess you _don't _want my advice," he shot back.

"I never asked for it in the first place."

"I'll remember that next time I try to be helpful."

"Next time? So far you haven't tried to be helpful at all!" she smiled, leaning back into the couch as the fireworks display intensified - here came the finale.

"Yeah, well, if you see a probe coming your way, hit it in the underbelly between the robotic legs. It's their weak spot."

"See, you're being helpful! Was that so hard?"

"Incredibly difficult," he smirked.

"Well, you got through it. I'm very proud of you," she snorted. She didn't usually snort, and it sounded strange coming out of her mouth - a very un-princesslike thing to do. It was unbecoming. It was disgusting. It was common.

So, she did the only logical thing: she shut off the communicator.

It was only seconds after she shut it off that she saw the flash of her sister's starbolts light up the sky. In a matter of seconds, she crossed to the window to watch as the probe chased her sister while the human Titans watched it pass them by. Some heroes.

When Starfire circled back, however, she saw them preparing for battle. Cyborg grabbed its robotic legs, Beast Boy took a snap at it, and Raven threw a hot dog cart. These were all pitiful attempts, and Blackfire wondered if Jump City even felt safe with them protecting it.

Then, it was Robin's turn. He jumped onto the probe and punched right through its central processing unit, sending it spinning into the sky, where it exploded with the fireworks' finale.

Okay. Hot.

Blackfire blinked back the thought; she couldn't afford to - what was the popular phrase? - crush on anyone here. She was only _visiting _Earth, only staying long enough to distract them from her sister so the probes could get her. With Starfire out of the picture and the embarassing criminal record taken care of, she could go back to getting ready for her coronation.

Still, her subconscious piped up, would it be so bad to stay?

Yes, it would. Her people wouldn't take kindly to such an extended leave of absence, and besides, she'd be playing the hero part if she stayed. She hated playing on the right side of the law as a general rule; it wasn't her style.

A few minutes passed by as Blackfire reminded herself of the plan - and as she rehearsed once more what she would say to the Titans when she finally met them - before she heard clunking footsteps coming towards the living room.

"Come, friends," said a too-cheerful voice that she knew all too well. "I shall thank you for my rescue by reciting the Poem of Gratitude - all six thousand verses."

She almost snorted again - thankfully, though, she caught herself in time - as she shook her head. Starfire may have been weakened by Earth's cultures and the Teen Titans, but she still had that ridiculous, over-the-top, death-grip on the old traditions. "I see you haven't changed a bit," she smiled as she climbed over the sofa. (Well, it wasn't true, she _had _changed, but it seemed like the proper lead-in, and her friends wouldn't know any different, right?)

She widened her arms for the expected hug, closing her eyes to force a smile to her face as a delighted squeal threatened to deafen her. Throwing her arms around her little sister, she decided to play her first card: "Brought you a present."

With her sister distracted by the shiny gift, she could focus her attention on the other Titans. Cyborg - obviously the oldest - stood with his arms crossed across his chest and a wide grin. Raven simply looked on in mild amusement as Blackfire answered her sister's "A Centari moon diamon? Where did you . . . ?" with "On the Centari moons, of course." That should have been obvious to everyone present, right? Even Beast Boy chuckled at the plainness of that statement.

Robin struck a pose similar to Cyborg's - with his arms crossed and his head tilted to one side - but Blackfire could not quite read his expression. It made her nervous, and she didn't like things that made her nervous; they threw off her self-image as unstoppable and ruthless.

And why did it make her nervous, anyway? What was there to fear in not being able to see his eyes? No, she wasn't afraid. She was nervous. There was a difference. Nervous meant she actually cared about what he thought. Nervous meant he had some kind of sway over her - why was she doing this again?

She gritted her teeth; well, if he could make her nervous, she'd do the same. She'd make him blush so hard his feet would turn red. She'd make him sweat and pine and beg for her attention; she'd done it a million times before.

Her sister moved to introduce her to the Titans, but she wasn't about to let Starfire upstage her. She shook Cyborg's hand with a little extra oomph, complimented Raven on her gemstone - and hinted at her own interest in such things - laughed at Beast Boys jokes, and then stopped at Robin.

Immediately, she dove behind him to grab his cape. When she picked it up and ran her fingers over it, she was surprised to see it was not soft and supple, as she supposed. She could feel the tensile strength, the way the fabric refused to tear - it was very similar to battle uniforms worn by Tamaranean warriors. Maybe there was some hope for the technological future of Earth. "Oh, I am loving this cape. It's absolutely luscious!" she gushed, and it was true.

He said something about it's composition, but she wasn't listening. Their faces were very close now, and she didn't want to screw this up.

"And this mask makes you look very mysterious," she said, layering as much sensuality into her tone as she could without being overly so and attracting the Titans' suspicions.

Robin's and Starfire's reactions were absolutely worth the hours of planning. Robin's cheeks flushed a brilliant red, and she could have sworn he was unconsciously leaning closer to her before Starfire jealously interrupted - but not before, to Blackfire's delight, she gasped in shock and realized Blackfire could steal her man away. Beautiful!

As her sister appeared between them, she could see Robin turn slightly towards Starfire. That just wouln't do. So, she simply dropped a hint at her earlier adventure with a black hole, and - bam! - instant attention. All three Titan boys appeared at her elbow, their teammates - including Starfire - forgotten as they listened to her story. (In fact, Blackfire took no small joy in sending her little sister to go fetch a soda. That was her sister's place, after all - a place of service, as position she so unjustly escaped by coming here to Earth.)

"And after I'd pulled free of that black hole, I guess I was too tired to pay close enough attention, because the next thing I knew, I'd drifted too far into another one to just pull out on strength alone," she said. As she told her story, she draped her arms comfortably over the back of the sofa. At that vantage point, she could better see the gentle curve of muscles under cloth sleeves, the way they flexed as he tensed at the more exciting parts of the story.

"What'd you do?" Beast Boy squeaked, leaning forward to block her view.

Blackfire narrowed her eyes, but she was better than her annoyance; she would not let it wreck her plans. Pushing aside the frustration at her blocked view - and his jarringly squeaky voice - she smiled, "Well, I needed some kind of impetus to push me away. If I'd had my ship with me, I could have simply grabbed a lifeline, but I just had me and myself."

Starfire joined the conversation as she handed Blackfire the soda. "Sister, you know better than to travel alone, especially given your new status." Starfire paused painfully, and Blackfire was pleased to see that at least the loss of the crown still affected her sister. But the fleeting expression faded as Starfire added, "What will Galfore say when you get home?"

The boys were losing the new thread of the conversation, and she needed to reign them in. "Oh, it's not the first time I've done this. I'm sure he's used to it by now," she shrugged dismissively. Then, she turned back to her captive male audience and continued, "Anyway, I turned around to face the black hole." (Here, she turned to mimick her actions in the story.) "I sent out one starbolt, then immediately blasted it with another."

Robin tilted his head to one side, and the corner of his lips twitched up into a smile. "And the force of the explosion propelled you away from the black hole," he said.

She blinked, then smiled softly as she leaned towards him, "Well, Starfire told me you were smart, but I guess I didn't think earthlings could keep up. Consider me impressed."

She was really close to his face now - a few more inches and their noses could touch. She could feel the heart from his skin as he blushed, and she could see the cloth mask contorting with his face to show his eyes widening at her advances. Well, he was an excitable little cutie, wasn't he?

"So, you got away from the black hole by blowing yourself up?" Beast Boy asked, breaking the spell. She saw out of the corner of her eye as she turned to face Beast Boy that Robin gave his head a little shake. So she made him nervous; he didn't know how to deal with her. Good.

"That's the basic idea, yes," she shrugged as she opened a can of soda and gulped some down. Immediately, the bubbles rose up in her nose and tickled her eyes into watering. She blinked and took a deep breath, then said, "You were right, Starfire. Sodas pack a punch."

Starfire was too busy glaring murderously at the sister who was trying to steal her Robin, so Cyborg answered for her, "Yeah, you gotta be careful."

"I'll remember that next time," she smiled demurely as she took another, smaller sip.

...

Well, it had taken over an hour, but she finally had Robin all to herself.

Raven lost interest in the thread of the conversation early on, announcing that she wanted to finish reading her book before she left the room. Cyborg and Beast Boy were another matter entirely. They wanted to hear about "Baby Star," as Cyborg called her, and of course, Blackfire couldn't resist an opportunity to needle her sister. Even Robin seemed to be enjoying the occasional embarassing story, though Blackfire noted with dismay that he glanced uneasily at Starfire as if to ask her permission to laugh before he actually did. He was too attached; he'd notice if Starfire went missing when the Centari police arrested her.

Which didn't make sense, of course. He shouldn't have been attached, not with Blackfire there. Most men would die for her affections, and here he was ignoring them for the younger sister?

But she had him alone now; she could fix this.

She'd suggested to Cyborg that he and Beast Boy ask Starfire to teach them how to play g'radn - Starfire's favorite Tamaranean sport. Starfire jumped at the idea and whisked them off to the roof, which left Robin in the living room with her.

"We, umm, we don't have a guest room," he said. "Do you want to bunk with your sister?"

She grimaced, "No. Sorry, but I've had my own room my whole life. I'm not interested in sharing."

"Okay, well," he paused, searching for words.

"The couch is comfy," she smiled.

"Comfy?" he repeated with a smile. Now that they had sleeping arrangements over with, he was finally starting to relax.

"Just because my sister can't grasp English doesn't mean I can't," she shrugged.

"Yeah, why is that?"

Blackfire smiled; if she told him about the lagte'e, about how Starfire's attraction got in the way, it would make things awkward between them. Then again, if Robin returned the affection . . . . No, better to play it safe. "I'm older, Robin. I've always been better at stuff like that."

He raised an eyebrow - or, at least, one side of his mask got bigger than the other.

"Oh, come off it, Robin. I'm not conceited," she said before he could say it. "I'm just telling the truth."

"Okay," he said quietly, then turned towards the door hesitantly.

"Wait, you can't leave!" she cried, grabbing his upper arm. "I'm bursting with questions! You must tell me more about Earth, about the Titans, about you!"

He did the raised eyebrow approximation again, then sighed, "There's not much to tell. I've been in the hero business for forever, went solo, met your sister, formed a team, and now we protect Jump City."

"What a conversationalist," she smirked; he blushed. She took a step closer to him, and he took a step back. "That's it? You sound boring when you say it like that."

"I am boring," he insisted. She took another step, and he took another step back - now he was backed up to the table, so she took another step, and he couldn't mirror her. "I mean, relatively boring. No superpowers, you know."

"Some people would think that makes you more interesting," she purred as she reached up to play with the fabric of his sleeve. She could have heard him swallow from across the room as she looked him up and down. He was deceptively small, but she could tell he was built by the way he carried himself. Hmm.

His voice cracked as he said, "Yeah, some people."

She laughed as her fingers traced their way over her sleeve to circle the "R" on his chest. Her other hand found the latches of his vest and traced them, too, while she relished the sound of his breathing faster and the feel of his increased heartbeat on her fingertips. "And you use martial arts, right?"

"Right." His voice cracked again.

She took a step back; it was more fun to toy with him that way. "I've got a few moves of my own. Maybe I could teach you some."

"Sure, yeah!" he nodded fervently, glad to be further apart and not talking about himself anymore.

"Tomorrow night, meet me in the training room."

He could only gulp and nod his agreement.

"Great, it's a date!" she laughed. And before he could object to the word "date," she flew off the grab a pillow and blanket for her couch-bed.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry I've been lacking in my updates. Bad breakup and NaNoWriMo and term papers caught up to me. :(

Disclaimer: Same as always. I own nothing but the storyline. I don't own Teen Titans or anything DC related, no matter how much I wish I did.

Chapter Four

Video games? Not a problem.

Blackfire smirked at the surprised gasp from the green changeling behind her as she slammed her video-imaged car into Cyborg's blue and white striped one. Her black car with a single silver streak down the side zipped past the finish line, and animated fireworks lit up the name of her car: Blazenbeat.

Cyborg stared, open-mouthed, at the television screen. "I thought you said you'd never played this game before!" he half-shouted.

She grinned and shrugged apologetically, "Beginners' luck?" Of course, she knew luck had nothing to do with it. In fact, her superior hand-eye coordination and brainpower were wasted on such a pointless game. But it looked more impressive if they didn't know that.

"Do it again," Cyborg said as he showeved the controller back into her hands (she'd let it fall to the floor as she jumped up in celebration.)

"No way, dude, my turn!" Beast Boy insisted, trying to yank the controller out of Cyborg's hands.

Blackfire glanced up at the clock on the wall. She still had a little while before she had to meet Raven. "Okay, Beast Boy, you're on," she grinned, which prompted Cyborg to surrender the controller.

The traffic light on the screen ticked down from red to green, and both Blackfire and Beast Boy took off. They swerved, neck and neck, through the tunnels of a computerized city, past the "Road Closed" signs, and into the bridged roads in the sky. Blackfire glanced to her right to see Beast Boy sitting with his tongue tucked into the corner of his mouth, his shoulders hunched forward as if he could physically give his little car an advantage. She almost laughed at him; from what she could see, Beast Boy tried way too hard to prove himself, which actually hurt his image. He was a much easier opponent because his tense muscles could not react as quickly to her smooth strategies, and she pulled ahead to keep the lead for the entire second half of the race.

"Booyah!" Cyborg shouted with a fist pump after Blackfire crossed the finish line. She tried not to smile at his antics; she understood, of course - Cyborg was justified in losing to a girl as long as someone else lost to the same girl.

"I like this game," Blackfire grinned as she stretched lazily.

"Okay, man, my turn," Cyborg said as he held out his hand expectantly.

Beast Boy shook his head, his fingers clenched in a death grip around the little plastic controller. "No way, dude. I want a rematch!"

Blackfire glanced up at the clock and sighed, "Well, guys, it's been fun, but I promised Raven we'd have a night out, and then I told Robin I'd show him some new moves."

"You can't leave!" Beast Boy pouted. "What about my rematch?"

"And mine!" Cyborg piped up.

Blackfire smirked; she had them practically eating out of the palm of her hands. This was going perfectly so far. She simply smirked and shrugged again, "Maybe after I'm done, I'll play with you."

Cyborg smirked at Beast Boy, "Race you for it?"

"The whole contest?"

"The Grand Prix?"

"All seventeen races?"

"What else?"

Beast Boy grinned and grabbed Blackfire's discarded controller. "You're on."

...

Blackfire rather liked this cafe. The dim lighting, the smoky haze, and the nearly imperceptible music in the background reminded her of the room in which she and Trogaar planned her sister's demise. Granted, at the time, the room was filled with Gordanian guards and her own Tamaranean warriors, and they were discussing teachery, not deep emotional scars. Still, she appreciated the general idea.

Raven shifted uncomfortably in her seat - which struck Blackfire as odd in and of itself, since Raven did not strike her as the nervous type - as she glanced at Blackfire. As the latest poet stepped down off the stage, Raven whispered, "I don't know much about Tamaranean poetry, but -"

Blackfire waved her off, "Shh, this is fascinating."

One purple eyebrow shot up, "It is?"

"I've never heard Earth poetry before, The form is thrilling," she said. Then, she turned to Raven and asked, "Would you mind if I tried?"

"You want to share?" Both eyebrows shot up this time.

"You don't mind, do you?" Blackfire asked. "I mean, I've read some poetry. I found one of your books last night, and I wanted to brush up before we came out here. I understand if you don't want -"

Raven held up her hand, "If you're going to talk so much, you'll get us kicked out."

"So, you don't mind?"

Raven sighed and glanced up at the stage, "Well, it can only get me thrown out."

"Great." Blackfire flew up to the stage and touched down. She noticed quite a few ruder stares than she expected, but then again, she looked like her sister. Maybe they expected the same kind of annoying peppiness and overemotional nature. Time to prove them wrong. She swallowed, then declared the title: "Spectacle." She paused, then continued:

"Eyes that saw me once before

Now downcast, staring at the floor

As each breath comes much harder than the last

No more hopes and no more dreams

She cries aloud, for now it seems

Her too-short life before her eyes has passed

She's led away in cruel despair

I've found myself, just standing there

And watching as this tragedy unfolds

And teary eyes are my disguise

And no one ever could surmise

No pity lives within my heart so cold

And now where once a captive knelt

I stand, no guilt I ever felt

And marvel at the monster that I am."

Blackfire stepped down from the stage with a solemn expression - it took all her concentration not to smile in triumph at the expression around her. She glided gently over to Raven's table and seated herself, noting with no small pleasure that no one else was at the stage yet. She leaned over to Raven an innocently asked, "Why are they all staring?"

Blackfire could have sworn that she saw the ghost of a smile pass across Raven's face as she answered, "I guess they're used to Starfire."

"So, you're saying my sister doesn't have the emotional depth for this kind of thing?" Blackfire smirked. "Or are you saying she doesn't have the same grasp of the English language I do?"

Raven looked slightly uncomfortably talking poorly of her friend, and she muttered a practically inaudible, "Something like that."

Blackfire realized she was letting herself get out of hand. She might be winning the Titans' affections, but they were still close to her sister. She needed to play the "nice sister" card more. So, se just smiled, "You shouldn'y say things like that, Raven. I've just always had a flair for languages. As for emotional depth, well, I don't know if Starfire explained to you how Tamaranean culture is steeped in our emotions?"

Raven shook her head.

"Tamaraneans believe in the strength of emotions. Whatever we're feeling, we really _feel _it. Starfire's always happy because she's living in peace. I, on the other hand, am living in a warrior state," she explained.

Raven's eyebrows dropped back down to their normal position, and she at least look a little less suspicious. Blackfire sighed; she had to tread lightly around Raven and her empathy. But for now, crisis averted.

...

He was already in the training room when she showed up at the door. She watched him perform a quadruple flip, land neatly in a crouch, then stand up and grin her way. "Hey, Blackfire!" he smiled as he crossed to the bench and grabbed a water bottle.

She grinned back at him, "Sorry I'm late. Raven and I went to her favorite cafe, and I was fascinated by the cultural differences between our two worlds."

He looked surprised. "Really? How so?" he asked before taking a long drink from the water bottle.

"For one thing, I've never encountered apathy on Tamaran," she said. She didn't tell him that she'd encountered it on other worlds. "Tamaraneans are much more open about how they feel."

"That would explain some things," Robin nodded, and she wasn't sure if he was thinking about her sister's generally over-the-top behavior or about her moves last night. Hopefully, he was thinking about her, not Starfire, but it was hard to be entirely sure with him.

"Anyway," she said, which brought his attention back to her, "are you ready?"

In answer, Robin took a fighting stance, his hands out in front of him and his feet firmly planted. "Ready."

You know, when he stood there like that, it showed off the nice tone of his legs. She wondered if maybe he wore green tights to show off his build. But then, if he'd wanted that kind of attention, he would have been a little more responsive last night.

She realized as she jerked her attention back to the matter at hand that she should probably raise her gaze before he noticed. She took her own fighting stance, said, "Okay, watch this," and rushed forward with a shout.

She kicked at his shin and, when he moved his foot aside, she grabbed it, then placed her other hand just under his chin. This was the tricky part - getting the pressure just right so she didn't break his neck. Now, with one hand around his ankle and one under his chin, she could flip him over easily. It was too dangerous for him to react because of the pressure on his neck - that was what made this move nearly impossible to defend against. The entire move took a matter of seconds, and from his place on the ground, he grunted, "I'm impressed."

She offered her hand to help him up, then grinned, "The point is to manuever your opponent into a position he doesn't want to struggle out of."

"Funny enough, I managed to gather that much for myself," he said as he rubbed his chin. She could practically see the wheels in his head turning, trying to figure out a way out of her hold. Something lit up behind the mask, and he said, "Okay, do it again."

"Have it your way," Blackfire shrugged, and they took their respective defensive stances. She kicked at his shin, and he stepped away, just as before. She grabbed his ankle, cupped his chin, and thought briefly that he wasn't blocking her very well.

Then, he moved. Instead of struggling to stay upright, he grabbed her upper arm and helped to speed up the flip. In fact, he sped it up so much that she lost her balance and joined him on the floor, spralwed out unceremoniously beside him.

"It's not perfect," he said as he glanced over at her.

She turned over onto her side to lean her ear on her arm and stare at him. They were very close now, and she whispered, "A little unorthodox, but I like it."

Maybe he could tell the comment was both a compliment of his fighting style and a subtle come-on, because he cleared his throat, turned away, and pushed himself to his feet. "What else have you got?" he asked, though his voice cracked. It was cute - his voice liked to crack when he realized someone was flirting with him; he obviously did not have much experience in the girl department. She'd have to remedy that.

She rolled her eyes and jumped to her feet. "Okay," she smirked. "Show me what you've got."

Robin grinned, "Bring it, Blackfire." He was a lot more confident in training than in the things that really mattered - like flirting with her.

She started off by throwing a punch which, as expected, he easily blocked. She paused there and breathed in his ear, "Okay, now grab my wrist."

She imagined that behind the relatively unexpensive mask, he blinked in surprise - in any case, there was a slight pause before he complied with her instructions.

"Good," she grinned, then threw another punch, which he also blocked. He paused again, probably gauging her reaction and her sudden switch in teaching methods, before he grabbed her other wrist, too. Almost unconsciously, he stepped forward to push her wrists down by her sides. "Perfect, Robin," she purred, absolutely thrilled by the warmth she could feel from his cheeks as he blushed. "Hold me just like that and -" She shouted with the sudden force of her movement as she suddenly crossed her arms, jerking his up with hers. Out of reflex, he loosened his grip, and it was a simple matter to then twist her hands to grab his forearms and twist. He flipped over, and she could now throw the spinning Titan into the nearest table.

"Hello, Robin and . . . my sister."

Blackfire couldn't hide her grin. She knew that tone. Starfire was jealous! She turned this beautiful thought over and over in her head as Robin explained what they were doing, then decided Starfire had received enough attention from him. She declared herself the better fighter, grabbed his hand, made him blush again, and led him to the other side of the training room. The look on Starfire's face was perfect!

To Blackfire's utter dismay, though, Robin glanced over at Starfire from across the room. He looked concerned when she sighed heavily and left the room, she Blackfire decided the best way to get his attention back was the direct approach. She reached up to trace her fingers under his left ear, then down to up his chin and gently pull his face close to hers. "Something wrong?" she purred.

This time, there was no exciting little blush, only a pause as he said, "Maybe we should have asked Star if she wanted to join us."

She wanted to scream. How? How was this possible? Out of the hundreds of suitors Blackfire had successfully stolen from her sister, how did Robin manage to skirt his way around her? It was the clothes, wasn't it? Starfire showed off way more skin than Blackfire did; maybe the armor made her more intimidating and not as soft and huggable. She'd have to fix that. For now, though, this was unacceptable. As long as he kept thinking about her sister, he'd notice if the Centari probes took her away. Time to change his thinking patterns. Time for the even-more-direct approach.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder, placed one hand on each of his hips, pulled him in, and whispered, "Okay, Robin. Let's see _your _moves."


End file.
